Help for Heroes veterans and their families recently got a visit from CBeebies presenter and zoologist Jessica French.
The wildlife expert dropped into the Help for Heroes Recovery Centre in Colchester where Essex Wildlife Trust were teaching families how to make bee homes, bird boxes and hedgehog hideaways from scratch. They also all worked together to build a gigantic insect hotel, which the children dubbed “The Big Bug Base”.
Jessica, who is from Norfolk, said of the Recovery Centre: “I was amazed by the Hope on the Horizon Garden. What a fantastic location to relax, unwind and even do some wildlife watching. It has been proven time and time again that time spent in nature is crucial for our psychological wellbeing and I am delighted that this incredible facility is available to help in the rehabilitation of injured veterans and their families”.
The military charity, Help for Heroes, and conservation charity, Essex Wildlife Trust, have been working together for several years now. Their most recent joint project saw veterans, their families and volunteers coppicing hazels from local forests then being taught the new skill of weaving hazel hurdle fence. The award-winning ‘Hope on the Horizon’ garden is now surrounded by these new fences; a garden which frequently sees people taking Pilates classes, practicing mindfulness or having family picnics on the grass and amongst the flowers.
